Bands or bracelets secured with rivets are appreciated in horology or jewellery for the sports customization of watches and pieces of jewellery, since the rivets constitute a reminder of applications related to major aviation, motor racing or sailing events.
These rivets are components that are increasingly finely crafted and may be made of rare materials like titanium alloys, or of precious materials, especially hallmarked materials, and the rivet heads comprise decorative elements designed to enhance the band or bracelet. Rivets comprising a central bore are especially appreciated.
These riveted bands or bracelets are conventionally used in watches or pieces of jewellery that have fixed horns or lugs that it is necessary to circumvent in order to insert the band or bracelet portions concerned. The rivets are generally irreversibly secured, since they are fitted by pounding, heading, or bonding or welding, which make it almost impossible to disassemble the rivets. Certain rivets are, moreover, purely decorative, and are not designed to be disassembled. Changing the band or bracelet thus requires destroying the rivets, generally by drilling, which is undesirable in all cases where the rivets have a high intrinsic value. The screw in rivets that exist, particularly for leather goods, do not guarantee permanent attachment, and can become unscrewed when the user and his clothes move, with the risk of losing the watch or piece of jewellery.
It is thus a question of developing a riveted band or bracelet, particularly with centrally pierced rivets, which cannot be inadvertently disassembled by the user, which can be disassembled in the workshop, thereby allowing the rivet elements to be recovered and re-used and ensuring that the band or bracelet is interchangeable.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,274A in the name of SPECTOR describes a riveted watch strap, comprising superposed layers of flexible material inside each strap portion, with the rivets holding two or three layers of material together, depending upon whether or not a strap portion of flexible material passes underneath the watch case, which is held by loops passed through its horns and riveted to the strap portions.
FR Patent Application No 1528737A in the name of CUIRS MEILLON describes a watch strap with visible studs, made of flexible material, comprising at least one flexible securing lug also holding the watch case. The various thicknesses of material are assembled with split shank fasteners, which each have a protruding head on the visible side of the assembly, from which two flat legs extend, folded under the assembly, which may or may not be embedded in slits arranged underneath the non visible bottom layer of flexible material, or covered by adhesive discs to prevent any injury to the user.